Furnace for producing fuel-gas



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J. HARLEMAN. PURNAGB FOR PBODIYIGING FUEL GAS. No. 516,351. Patented Mar. 13, 1894.

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HARLEMANp PURNAGI; Fon PEODUGING FUEL GAS..

No. 516,351. Patented Mar. 13, 1,894.-

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NTTE -TnTns PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HARLEMAN, OF ST. GEORGE, NEAR ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, ASSIGN OR OF FIVE-EIGHTHS TO EDWIN H. COLLINS, STEPHEN J. COLLINS, AND

FRANK COLLINS7 OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

FURNACE FOR PRODUCING FUEL-GAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,351, dated March 13, 1894. Application led September 1,1893'.Y Serial No. 484,581. (No model.)

To al? whom t may concern,.- 4 Be 1t known that I, JOHN HARLEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. George,

near the city of St. Joseph, in the county of 5 Buchanan and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful furnace for producing fuel-gas from coal for'I burning brick, heating boilers, smelting ore, and all other purposes for which fuel-gas may` be used, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore, fuel gasfhas been produced for smelting ore, puddling furnaces, zc., by burning coal in an open draft furnace with water 1n the ash pit, or in a furnace without re grates with steam and air admitted through the hearth or perforated chambers therein into the incandescent mass, in all cases the coal being charged inthe tire box on top of the incandescent mass, and the heat, smoke zo and gases are carried by the draft of a stack from the fire box to the furnace or chamber' where the combustion is to take place. And

- the gas is produced by subjecting the coal charged in the tire box on top of the incandescent mass to the action of the heat thereof with the product of the steam and air drawn through the same.

My invention is an air tight furnace for producing fuel gas by the process herein described, and heating air for combustion therewith, with pressure sufficient to drive the gas and hot air into an air tight kiln, re box, furnaceor other chamberV for combustion, and conslsts of two air tight chambers, each having an ash pit, a iire grate above the ash pit, a cold air pipe and steam pipe connecting w1th the ash pit, a fire box above the tire grate, air tight doors in the ash pit andin the fire box, arches turned and jambs built thereon in the fire boxa hot air flue in the lire box on each side thereof between the jambs and the walls of the chamber, a retort setting on the Jambs and reaching to the top of the chamber, the annular space around the retort filled with brick Work built loosely to admit the free passage of hot air and steam and expose as much surface as possible to the same, a hot air pipe connecting said annular space with the main hot air pipe which connects with the kiln, re box, furnace or other chamber for combustion of the gas, a steam pipe connecting with said annular space near the top, an opening from the top of the retort through the top of the chamber to the bottom of the feed top, agas pipe connecting the retort through said opening with themain gas pipe which connects with the kiln, tire box, furnace or other chamber for combustion of the gas, a feed top setting over the opening leading from the top of the retort, allpipes provided with valves so that while one charnber is producing fuel gas the other is heating air for its combustion. The pressure afforded by the cold air blast in the chamber heating theair, and that afforded by the steam and the expansion of the product of the steam passed through the heated annular space around the retort and through the incandescent mass in the fire box, in vthe chamber producing fuel gas, no air being admitted to that chamber, being sufficient to drive the' hot air and the fuel gas respectively through their proper pipes into an air tight chamber for combustion. By reversing the valves at intervals each chamber is made to produce fuel gas and heat air for its combustion alternately.

The process by which I produce fuel gas from coal in my newly invented furnace is as follows: I close the cold air pipe of the chamber, through wchich alone air can enter the chamber, charge the retort with coal and subject the mass of coal in the retort to the heat of the incandescent mass which fills lthe Ire box except the hot air iues, and the product of the steam from the upper jet,superheated by passing through the heated brick work in the annular space around the retort and the Y hot air flues, passing through the incandescent mass between the arches and between the jambs, and the product of the steam from the jet in the ash pit passed through the incandescent mass in the lire box, and thus lib` erates all the gases from the coal which combine with the product of the steam passed through the incandescent mass in the tire box as aforesaid and form a fuel gas intensely heated which with hot air will ignite .and burn in theopen air or in any kiln, fire box ANI or furnace but which gives the best results when burned in an air tight chamber, which prevents the escape of any form of gas and utilizes all the heat.

The objects of my invention are to produce a fuel gas that may be adapted practically to all manu facturingpurposes and whi ch can be burned in an air tight chamber for combustion, and, to reduce to a minimum the cost of burning brick, operating steam plants, smelting furnaces and all other plants to which my invention may be adapted.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings is a detailed View in perspective of my new furnace, showing thetwo chambers, their respective pipes, valves and connections, and the front doors to each. Fig. 2, is a vertical section of my furnace on a line crossing the arches in the fire boxes of the chambers and the main pipes at right angles, showing the two chambersv and their respective pipes, valves and connections. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of one chamber on aline parallel with the arches in the iire box and with the main pipes.

Similarlettersrefer tosimilar parts throughout the several figures.

The chambers are exact duplicates in size, form, materials, dimensions and location ot the several parts, pipes, valves and connections, and in Fig. 2 of the drawings similar letters are used to designate similar parts of the respective chambers; hence a detailed description of one will answer fora detailed description of both chambers.

I prefer to construct my furnace with a space of about four feet between the cham bers, and place the main hot air pipe about two feet under ground midway between the chambers, and the main gas pipe about iive feet above the ground midway between the chambers as shown in Fig. 2. I first prepare a suitable foundation the upper surface of which forms the base line and the hearth A, and which may be on a level with the surface of the ground. On this foundation I build the walls Y, Y, circular in form; outside diameter eight feet. The inside of the chamber for six and one half feet above the hearth is four feet square and above that is circular live feet and twoinches in diameter. The fire grate D, is placed with heel about sixiuches and center about eighteen inches above the hearth; the space between the hearth and the fire grate is the ash pit. A cold air pipe B, six inches in diameter and steam pipe C, one inch in diameter connects with the ash pit. Above the fire grate I turn two arches E, E, across the charnber in the fire box, these arches spring from the front and back walls of the chambers at a point four feet above the hearth. Below these arches I put in air tight iron doors X, X, in the front and back walls opening into the ash pit and the tire box affording access to each from the front and rear. Between each side Wall and the arch next to it there is a space of six inches and between the arches there is a space of twenty four inches. On these arches I build jambs F, F. The tops of these jambs are level with the point where the form of the chamber is changed from square to circular. The space below the tops of these jambs and above the fire grate is the fire box, and the spaces between the jambs and the walls are hot air fines in the Lire box. On the jambs and shoulders in the front and back walls of the chamber made by changing the interior form of the chamber from square to circular I sct a retort Gr. The retort is ten feet high, four feet long and two feet wide at the bottom, two feet long and sixteen inches wide at the top, inside measu rement. Its walls are twoinches thick. I case the retort with one course of fire brick. The annular space around the retort I fill with checker work H, H, that is brick work built in loosely to admit the free passage of hot air and steam and expose to the same as much surface as possible. The checker work is supported by the jambs and shoulders in the walls and in turn supports the solid brick work which forms the top of the chamber. A hot air pipe I, connects this annular space with the main hot air pipe U. At the top of the checker work a steam pipe .Lone inch in diameter connects with the annular space around the retort. A circuiar opening K, fourteen inches in diameter connects the top of the retort with the bottom of the feed top M Through this opening the gas pipe L, connects the retort with the main gas pipe O. The iron feed top M, is placed on the chamber over the opening K, and has any iron dump bottom which is dumped by the lever N. The main gas pipe O, connects with the kiln or other chamber where the combustion of the gas is to take place and has a valve by which the volume of gas entering the chamber for combustion may be regulated. The gas pipe L, may be opened or closed by the valve l", and is supported by a brace Q.

R is a valve in the steam pipe J.

S is a valve in the cold air pipe B.

T is a valve in the hotair pipe I.

The main hot air pipe U connects with the kiln or other chamber where the combusti-on ofthe gas is to take place and has a valve by which the Volume of hot air entering the chamber for combustion may be regulated. The valve rod V, connects all the valves except those in the main pipes, so that they can be reversed by the operator with one movement by means of the valve rod lever W.

For greater strength and durability I incase each chamber in an iron shell Z, Z, made of one-fourth inch iron leaving a space of five and three-fourths inches on topof the chamber and three and three-fourths inches around the chamber which I till with mineral wool or sand. The feed top M, is fourteen inches square and thirtyinches high, and has an iron lid. The gas pipes and hot air pipes are nine inches squareinside, and to secure greater durability and prevent undue heating I make IOO IZO

lpipes B, and B drive them ot' one-fourth inch iron fourteen inchesy square on the outside and line them with tire brick.

I use tire brick for two courses inside the chambers, the arches E E, the jambs F, F, the checker work H, H, three courses above the checker work, and one course inside of the opening K, the latter however may be faced with iron in lieu of the course of fire brick. The retort is of 'fire clay. The dimensions herein given are not arbitrar Y but may be varied as circumstances require or convenience suggests, they are given for convenience in` illustrating the construction The materials named while not arbitrary are those which I believe will give the greatest strength and durability, most satisfactory results.

The main pipes may lead directly into the kiln or chamber for the combustion of the gas, or the connections may be made by a number of smaller pipes distributing the hot air and gas to dierent points in the combustion chamber or to different chambers for combustion.

When required by the capacity of the plant to be served my furnace may consist of two or more chambers on each side incased in one iron shell.

I raise the valve rod levers W of each chamber, this closes t-he gas pipes and opens the cold air pipes and the hot air pipes. I then build a fire in the iire box of each chamber, preferably with coke, filling the iire boxes to the tops of the jambs air blasts blown into the ash pits through the the heat through the hot air iiues into and through the checker work H, H, heating the same. While the checker Work is being heated to the proper degree I charge the retorts with coal by till= ing the feed tops with coal and after replacing the lid dumping the same into the retorts by means of' the levers N, N, this is repeated until the retorts are sufficiently charged. When the checker work isheated sufficiently, that is until it is from a cherry red to a white heat, I push down the Valve rod lever of one chamber, for example say the right chamber as shown in Fig. 2, of the drawings, this closes the hot air valve T and the cold air valve S and opens valve P in the gas pipe L of that chamber. The steam pipes C, C, are always open when the furnace is in operation the steam being turned ou or shut off by Valves near the boilers. The steam 'introduced into the chamber through the pipes J, and C, passes through the incandescent mass in the lire box into the retort, that from the pipe J first passing through the heated checker work, the product of this steam with the heat from the incandescent mass acts upon the coal in the retort liberating all its gases and combines with the same, and the product which is fuel gas is driven by the pressure of the steam and the expansion of its product through the gas pipes into the for combustion,

of -the furnace.

and therefore thev except the hot air dues,

kiln, re box, blast furnace or other chamber which may be air tight and should be to secure the'best results. The residuum of the coal which .is coke may be stoked down into the fire box where it serves as fuel. At the same time the cold air blast and steam from the pipe C, in the ash pit of the left chamber pass through the incandescent mass in the fire box by which the steam is decomposed and the air heated intensely, the volume of hot air thus produced is driven through the checker work, heating the same as it passes, thence through the hot air pipes into the kiln, fire box, blast furnace or other chamber for combustion where from its contact with the fuel gas from the right chamber combustion ensues. As soon as the checker work in the right chamber begins to cool I reverse the valves connected with the valve rods by raising the valve rod lever W of that chamber and pushing down the same lever of the left chamber, the left chamber then produces gas while the right chamber supplies hot air and in doing so again heats the checker work to the proper degree. I reverse the valves at intervals of to sixty minutes. Having heated the chamber and brought the'checker work toa proper degree of heat, the jet of steam introduced by the pipe J is passed through the checker work by whichvit is superheated, thence into the hot air tlues in the fire box, it then passes through the incandescent mass in the tire box under the arches into that part of the tire box between the arches and the jambs, the steam from the pipe C, in the ash pit passes up through the incandescent mass between the from twenty IOO fire grate and the arches, then with the steam 'I from the pipe J, or its product through the incandescent mass between the arches and the jambs. The product of the steam thus passed through the checker work and through the incandescent mass in theiire box with the heat from said mass passes into the retort which is charged with coal. The coal in the retortis subjected to the action of this product of the steam and the heat and all its gases are thereby liberated. These gases combine with the products of the steam and form a fuel gas of a superior quality which with hot air may be burned in an open furnace or an air tight chamber. n

When burning brick the products of combustion while heating the furnace to a degree necessary to produce gas pass through the hot air pipes into the kiln and are utlllzed in water smoking the green brick; in the case of heating boilers, dac., these products of combustion pass through the hot air pipes into the fire-box and are utilized in heating the same and escape Yslowly through avent for the purpose which may be controlled by a damper.

I claim as new and as my invention and de-A sire to secure by Letters Patent-n l. In a fuel gas furnace, an air-tlghtcham- IIO ber provided With arches above the grate in the fire box, jambs supported upon said arches, checker Work supported upon said jambs and upon the Walls of the chamber, a retort supported upon said jambe and a top supported upon the checker Work and retort combined with a steam pipe and a cold air pipe in the ash pit beneath the grate and a steam pipe connecting with the annular space around the retort above the fire box, a pipe connecting the retort with the main gas pipe and an independent pipo connecting the annular space around the retort with the main hot air pipe substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the outer Wall of the chamber having interior offset, of the arches sprung from the front and back Walls of the chamber, jambs supported on said arches With their upper ends on a plane with the said offsets, checker work supported from the offsets and jambs, a retort Within the checker Work supported upon said offsets and jambs, a top supported upon the checker Work with a space around the retort at the upper part of the chamber, a steam pipe and a cold air pipe in the ash pit beneath the grate, a steam pipe communicating with the air pipe leading into said space, a pipe connecting the retort with the main gas pipe and an independent pipe connecting said space with the main air pipe, substantially as specified.

The combination With the outer Wall of the chamber having interior offset, of the arches sprung from the of the chamber, jambe supported on said arches with their upper ends on aplane with the said cisets, checker Work supported from theofsets and jambs, a retort within the checker work supported upon said offsets and j ambs, a top supported upon the checker work With a space around the retort at the upper part of the chamber, a top supported on the checker work, a feed top in line with the retort, a pivoted bottom to the feed top and provided With an exterior lever by which it may be operated, a steam pipe and a cold air pipe in the ash pit beneath the grate, a steam pipe communicating with the air pipe leading into said space, a pipe connecting the retort with the main gas pipe and an independent pipe connecting said space with the main air pipe, substantially as specified.

August 24, 1893.

W. H. PRINDLE, E. RAY.

front and back Wallsl 

